Is Work of Art cheapening art as we know it—or is it a stroke of genius?

This month, Bravo debuts Work of Art: The Next Great Artist, its newest incarnation of the network's now-famous reality-show formula (an eccentric group of contestants who excel in a particular field + three respectable judges + one attractive, loosely connected host). Fourteen artists, including painters, sculptors, architects, and one especially haughty performance artist, among others, submitted biographical home videos and attended casting calls last year so that they could compete in New York City for a $100,000 prize and solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. But, assuming that it's even possible to find America's next great artist on reality TV, will the contestants (from one of Jeff Koons' former studio assistants to a self-taught painter) produce artwork that will garner actual respect from the rather prickly art world?

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The lineup of judges lends some cred: They include New York magazine art critic Jerry Saltz, curator and Salon 94 exhibition space owner Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, and gallery owner and Purple magazine editor-at-large Bill Powers. Well-known auctioneer Simon de Pury plays a Tim Gunnian mentor. And then there's self-proclaimed art enthusiast Sarah Jessica Parker, who pops up in the first episode to give well wishes. (Her company, Pretty Matches, is coproducing the show.)

So if the notoriously stuffy art scene has anything to say about Work of Art... well, never mind, it doesn't. None of the major museums I contacted (excluding the Brooklyn Museum) would agree to comment on the show, and maybe it's because they don't need to. "I don't think this is a show that's for the art world," says Amy Cappellazzo, Christie's Americas deputy chairman. "The art world has its own mechanics of how it searches out and confers status on artists, and I'm not sure this format will really compete with that."

It might not even matter whether or not serious tastemakers deem the show worthy of their consideration. Both Top Chef and Project Runway attracted millions of viewers, even though few of the contestants went on to be legitimate heavyweights in their fields. "It will inevitably be about career-building and publicizing oneself—for the judges no less than the contestants—rather than offering much about the private act of creativity," says Marcia E. Vetrocq, editor of Art in America. At best, Work of Art will accomplish what most reality shows like it do: get us watching, then get us talking, but this time about a topic that could always use exposure, no matter the medium.